Daddy Alert!!

For those of you who haven't heard yet, prepare to be surprised. For everyone else who know already, act surprised. Lenna and I are expecting our first baby! (Cue fanfare, parade and fireworks!) We're told the baby should come around Jan. 25th. Just three days after my b-day.

Well, we went to the doctor for Lenna's first check-up this past Monday. We weren't sure what was going to happen, but we were so excited. Our doctor briefed us on what she's going to do during delivery, what things Lenna can and shouldn't do, and answered any questions we had. Then she did a check-up on Baby and Lenna. Not only did we find out that Lenna is very healthy and the pregnancy is going the way it should, but we also got to hear the baby's heartbeat!! WOW! Talk about awesome! I tried so hard to fight back tears of joy after hearing the first "hello" from Baby.

That was the first moment that we both got to know that this is actually happening. That there is a wonderful miracle happening right inside of Lenna. It seemed surreal before that moment. I mean, we knew that Lenna was expecting, but it seemed almost dreamlike until that day. And to think that I am actually able to take part in this living creation's life-to love, inspire, cherish and instill a Godly faith and wisdom; it just seems overwhelming. Questions and doubts bombard my mind as I think about it all the time. Am I going to be the father that will genuinely portray our Father? Can that even be possible? Will I be an example of a man our son wants to grow into? Will I have a list of good qualities that our daughter will want to find in a husband? I'm sure every dad has these same type of questions running through their minds.

I just know that the only way I don't have a panic attack is knowing that Philippians 4:13 rings true. I know that God's going to help me in my shortcomings. Where I lack, He'll provide. I also believe in Prov. 12:15 where it says, "The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice". So any advice that any of you may have, I'm more than willing to listen.

Please keep Lenna and I in your thoughts and prayers. We don't want to raise just Christian children, we want to raise Godly children-and there is a difference. God bless!

Steppin' Up

This past Sunday was my first time playing guitar and leading worship at the same time. It was so much fun and it felt so amazing.

There was a change in the atmosphere of worship. I think the Lord was free to move in a different way. I've mentioned before in one of our practices that if we want a change in our worship life, we've got to worship in a different way. Simple logic, huh? But so many people don't realize that. We've been working on changing our way of leading worship-the types of songs, the intensity of worship, etc. because we want to see God move in a new and mighty way. I know we must be on to something. There's a change going on in the spiritual world. And when they change in the spiritual, they soon change in the physical. And the enemy knows and hates that!

The Wednesday before, I had a sore throat and a terrible cough that had me in excruciating pain. So Thursday I went to the doctor and found I had a respiratory virus that would just have to take it's toll. On top of that, I had lost my voice. Coincidence? I don't think so! Well, Thursday night came and we had our practice and I didn't know if I was going to be able to lead worship that week. Let me just say that MY God sustained me. Not only did He get me through it, He "showed up and showed off".

I strained my voice because of it, but God is faithful and He's still in the healing business so I'm believing He's going to restore me. But I know that God's doing something in the area of worship at New Heights Assembly and I'm glad to have front row seats when the roof comes off!

Words to live by...

Here's a "blessing" I found a long time ago that I thought I just had to share.

"May the light always find you on a dreary day

When you need to be home, may you always find your way.

May you always have courage to take a chance

And never find frogs in your underpants."

I hope this brightens your day!

I'm back!

Greetings people! This site has been so neglected by me. But I hope I can finally start adding more things here. So I guess if you're still looking on here to see if there's anything new, that's a good sign! Way to keep the faith! :) Anyway, I'm hoping to get better at doing this. PRAY FOR ME! ;) God bless!

What's .........Got To Do With It?

I was recently sending a special friend an e-mail with an inside joke, but it got me thinking about something. This friend (and I'm sure some of you will know who I'm talking about in a bit) has been sending group messages so all those people can see it at once. But to this one person, she would say something with blanks in it, as if to confuse us. (Yeah right, like we couldn't figure out "I .... you"! LOL) So anyway, it became a funny joke to my wife and she would send messages with words blanked out and so on. So just the other day, I was reading some old e-mails with those those little messages and I thought of a scripture to send her that I just couldn't resist. It was 1 Cor. 13:4-8 and I sent it just this way:

"... is patient, ... is kind. ... does not envy, ... does not boast, ... is not proud. ... is not rude, ... is not self-seeking, ... is not easily angered, ... keeps no record of wrongs. ... does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ... always protects, ... always trusts, ... always hopes, ... always perseveres. ... never fails."

As I sent that off with a mischievous grin that was noticeable to a blind man, I was reminded of something that I used to think about often when I was dating my wife (then, girlfriend). I had never felt the way I did for anyone before I met Lenna. I wanted to know if these feelings were what God considered love. So as I was praying, I felt the Lord telling me to read that passage of scripture. It was kind of a checklist that I would use to see if what I felt for Lenna was really love. So, instead of using the word "love", I would put my name in place of it-Zach is patient, Zach is kind, etc... and went all the way through the list. I found out I still needed work on some of those, but I used it as a guideline for God's definition of "love". When Lenna and I got married, we spent time going through this list as well and asked if we were showing those characteristics to each other.

It's been a while since we've been through this checklist together. With our 3rd year anniversary coming up, it seems like it would be a great time to see if we've improved or if there's more work needed. For those of you reading this who are married, I think that would be a good devotional time for the two of you tonight or sometime in the near future.

And this doesn't only have to apply to married couples either. This is a great checklist to go through in your daily life. Jesus said that's how people will know we are His. If we LOVE each other. Are you patient with your co-worker? Do you envy your neighbor's pay raise that got them the new car? Do you get easily angered with the driver who cut you off at the exit?

Yeah, yeah, I know, easier said than done. But at least we have a starting point. And if we forget a few, go back and try again. Recheck yourself once in a while. You may be surprised with the results.